If Tim Tebow can’t win as a pro quarterback, the next coach of the Broncos is doomed to the same miserable failure that got Josh McDaniels fired.

Now you know why Jim Harbaugh, Jon Gruden or any other hot, big-name football personality with stronger employment options on the sideline or in the TV booth would be stark-raving mad to fill the coaching vacancy in Denver.

During a 33-28 loss to San Diego on a Sunday that mercifully ended one of the saddest seasons in franchise history, the chants of “Tebow!” that rocked the stadium were loud enough to chase away any coaching candidate in his right mind.

Can anyone say with 100 percent certainty Tebow has any better shot of leading the Broncos to the Super Bowl than Brian Griese, Jake Plummer or Jay Cutler, who all fell short of the only football goal that really matters in Colorado?

Tebow, however, has Broncomaniacs mesmerized.

The rookie threw mindless interceptions against the Chargers that would have gotten Kyle Orton booed off the field.

While undeniably gutsy, Tebow’s tendency to scramble in a way that practically dares a linebacker to maul him is a reckless wish for serious injury.

And Denver seems to have amnesia that this is the very same quarterback who was handpicked in the first round by the reviled McDaniels, whose personnel moves have been panned from coast to coast.

Nevertheless, Tebow seems to have won the city’s heart, even if he has a losing record as a starting quarterback in his young NFL career.

He’s Teflon Tebow. Nothing bad sticks to him.

Picks into double coverage? Forgiven. A 58.2 quarterback rating against San Diego? Growing pains. Failure to keep the chains moving on fourth down in two out of three chances during the fourth quarter? Not Tebow’s fault.

All the blame rolls downhill to somebody else.

Tebow plays with so much red-hot passion that sometimes it seems as if he’s running with his hair on fire. Chill out, dude.

“That is sometimes kind of tough to do and is easier said than done, because you can get pretty amped up out there and you want to get the home runs and want to get it going,” said Tebow, acknowledging patience is not his strongest attribute. “So that is something that will be big for me to (improve).”

Popular demand, however, dictates the next Broncos coach will have little choice except to hitch his fortune to Tebow.

So no matter what sweet nothings John Elway might whisper in Harbaugh’s ear before, during or after Stanford plays tonight in the Orange Bowl, it won’t change an essential truth.

If he spurns any advance from the Broncos to take on the task of replacing Rich Rodri-guez at Michigan, Harbaugh will always recruit and pick his quarterback.

But the next coach of the Broncos will be judged in no small measure by his ability to groom a quarterback so raw even McDaniels deemed Tebow unready to lead the team.

What Tebow again demonstrated against the Chargers was the indomitable spirit that made him famous. He fought to the bitter end, launching Hail Mary passes in the final seconds that could have won the game but cost Denver dearly in the upcoming NFL draft.

It takes more than spunk, however, to be a consistently successful quarterback at the professional level.

Does Tebow deserve to be Denver’s starting quarterback in 2011?

“I don’t know,” he replied. “That is not necessarily up to me.”

With 94 rushing yards on 13 carries against San Diego but 20 incompletions among his 36 passes, Tebow showed that even he seems to trust his feet more than his arm.